StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. CJS Securities reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Encore Wire in a research report on Friday, April 19th. DA Davidson cut shares of Encore Wire from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Sidoti restated a neutral rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Encore Wire in a report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Encore Wire Stock Up 0.3 %

WIRE stock opened at $284.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.53. Encore Wire has a fifty-two week low of $146.36 and a fifty-two week high of $295.90.

Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The electronics maker reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.27. Encore Wire had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 17.77%. The business had revenue of $632.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $579.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Encore Wire will post 21.23 EPS for the current year.

Encore Wire Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.03%. Encore Wire’s dividend payout ratio is 0.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encore Wire

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 414 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,330 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 142 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. FCG Investment Co grew its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 1,297 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Encore Wire by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,104 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.82% of the company’s stock.

Encore Wire Company Profile

Encore Wire Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of electrical building wires and cables in the United States. It offers NM-B cables, UF-B cables, THHN/THWN-2, XHHW-2, USE-2, RHH/RHW-2, and other types of wire products, including SEU, SER, photovoltaic, URD, tray cables, metal-clads, and armored cables.